Shuttle launch attempt abandoned

The Cape Canaveral vegetation blows in the wind

The launch of the space shuttle Atlantis has been postponed for a third day by bad weather.

Nasa said high winds and rain at emergency landing sites in Spain and Morocco forced it to call off the launch on a mission to fix the International Space Station (ISS).

High winds endanger emergency landings

The next possible launch window begins on 11 May, due to other scheduled launches of unmanned rockets.

High winds at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida forced postponements of the launch of Atlantis on Monday and Tuesday.

When it does eventually fly, Atlantis will be loaded with fresh batteries, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and fans for the 18-month-old space station.

Since astronauts last visited the station last spring, two of its six main batteries have failed and another two are showing signs of deterioration.

Russian module

In addition, an antenna is broken, a crane is loose and the space station's orbit is dropping over three kilometres (two miles) closer to the Earth each week because of increased solar activity.

Nasa wants Atlantis and its crew up there as soon as possible to fix all the problems.

Atlantis was not supposed to fly until the Russians had launched a critical service module with guidance and life-support systems. But with the service module more than two years behind schedule and due to fly no earlier than July, Nasa advanced Atlantis' repair mission.

The weather at KSC is not the only thing that has kept Atlantis grounded. Mission Commander Halsell twisted an ankle during training last month, forcing a one-week postponement.

More than 100 changes have been made to the shuttle for this mission, including improved communications and air-conditioning systems and a new instrument panel.

The shuttle will also take the Olympic torch into space.